No. 20 Kentucky Opens SEC Tournament Play Friday in Quarterfinals
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LEXINGTON, Ky. – The No. 20 University of Kentucky women’s basketball team will begin its run in the 2017 Southeastern Conference Tournament on Friday at approx. 2 p.m. ET in the quarterfinals of the event against 12th-seeded Alabama at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C.
Kentucky (20-9, 11-5 SEC) earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament after finishing the league slate tied for third with Missouri. Kentucky’s top-four finish in the league marks the seventh time in Matthew Mitchell’s tenure that the Wildcats have finished top four in the SEC’s final standings. UK ended the regular season with an 11-5 conference record, marking its most wins in the league since going 13-3 in 2012-13. UK has won 10 or more league games eight straight seasons. The Wildcats have only won 11 or more games in the league five times with all of those occurring during Mitchell’s tenure.
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SEC Tournament QF: #4 Kentucky vs. #12 Alabama |
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Watch: SEC Network |
Every game of the tournament will be televised nationally with the first three rounds on SEC Network, while the semifinals will be on ESPNU and the championship on ESPN. Friday’s game will be broadcast on the SEC Network with Courtney Lyle on play-by-play, Tamika Catchings as the analyst and Steffi Sorensen as the sideline reporter. The game can also be seen through WatchESPN on computers, smartphones and tablets. Now in his 12th season, Neil Price will have the call on the UK Sports Network. Fans in Lexington can hear Price’s call of the game on WLAP 630 AM, while free audio and live stats will be available online at ukathletics.com. For more information on the event, including ticket information, visit ukathletics.com’s tournament central site.
The tournament is being played at the Bon Secours Wellness Arena in Greenville, S.C. Two first-round games were be played Wednesday with Alabama defeating Vanderbilt and Florida defeating Arkansas. Four second-round games will be played on Thursday, featuring Auburn vs. Georgia at Noon ET, Tennessee vs. Alabama at approx. 2 p.m. ET, Ole Miss vs. LSU at 6 p.m. ET and Florida vs. Texas A&M at approx. 8 p.m. ET. Four quarterfinal games will be played Friday, followed by two semifinal games Saturday and the championship game Sunday.
Kentucky enters the SEC Tournament having won five of its last six games, including an impressive overtime victory over then-No. 3 Mississippi State last Thursday on Senior Night. For the first time since Dec. 27, 2016, Kentucky is ranked inside both the Associated Press Top 25 and USA Today/Coaches Top 25. Currently, UK sits No. 20 in the AP poll and No. 24 in the Coaches’ poll. Kentucky begins postseason play after playing the second-toughest schedule in the nation according to the latest NCAA RPI report. The Wildcats sit at No. 14 in the NCAA RPI, having played 14 games against NCAA RPI top 40 teams with six wins (No. 5 Mississippi State, No. 17 Miami (Fla.), No. 19 Oklahoma, No. 20 Missouri, No. 36 LSU and No. 39 Auburn).
UK enters the event averaging 70.9 points per game, limiting opponents to 62.1 points per game. Kentucky ranks high in several national categories, sitting 12th in the nation and first in the SEC in turnovers per game with 12.3, 29th in the nation and second in the SEC in fewest personal fouls per game at 14.7, 18th nationally and first in the league in fewest total turnovers and 59th nationally and seventh in the SEC in field goal percentage. UK is taking care of the ball this season significantly better than it was at this time last season. Through 29 games last year, Kentucky had 461 turnovers, while the Wildcats have only turned the ball over 356 times so far this season. Along those same lines, Kentucky has limited its fouls. The Wildcats had 525 team fouls through 29 games last season, while it has only fouled 426 times this season through 29 games.
Senior guard Makayla Epps leads Kentucky in scoring with 16.9 points per game, adding 4.3 rebounds per game and a team-best 108 assists. Epps ended the regular season as the only player to rank top 10 in the SEC in points scored, field-goal percentage and assists. Fellow senior Evelyn Akhator is averaging a double-double with 15.3 points and 10.5 rebounds per game, adding a team-best 24 blocks while sitting second on the team with 43 steals. Akhator has 15 double-doubles on the season, which ranks top-15 nationally and second in the league. Both players were recently named to the All-SEC First Team by league coaches.
Two other Wildcats are averaging double figures in sophomores Taylor Murray and Maci Morris. Murray is scoring 12.9 points per game, sitting second on the team with 5.1 rebounds per game. The native of Odenton, Md., leads UK with 57 steals and is second on the team with 102 assists. Morris, who has hit a team-best 48 3-pointers, is averaging 11.8 points per game with 2.8 rebounds per game, sitting third on the team with 43 assists.
Tennessee enters the SEC Tournament with a 19-10 record after a 10-6 mark in conference play that helped the Lady Vols earn the No. 5 seed in the event. The Lady Vols were 13-3 at home and 6-7 in true road games. UT did not play a neutral-site game this season.
UT is coming off an impressive 82-64 win against top-five ranked Mississippi State in Starkville to end the regular season. Forward Jamie Nared paced Tennessee with 30 points, going 8-of-14 from the field and 12-of-13 from the free-throw line. Diamond DeShields scored 20 points with five rebounds, while Jordan Reynolds had 17 points and Mercedes Russell had nine points and 10 rebounds. The Lady Vols hit 54.7 percent from the field and out-rebounded the Bulldogs 39-26.
Tennessee is averaging 74.2 points per game this season, limiting opponents to 65.7 points per game. UT is hitting 43.6 percent from the field and 34.6 percent from 3, while the Lady Vols have dominated down low by out-rebounding teams by 3.5 rebounds per game with 4.0 blocks per game. DeShields leads the team by averaging 17.3 points per game, while Russell is averaging 16.3 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. Nared is the final UT player in double figures, averaging 15.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.
Tennessee leads the all-time series against Kentucky, 54-11, having won five of the last six meetings. Kentucky had won three of four meetings between the two teams overall from January 2012 to February 2014 before the Lady Vols rolled off four straight wins in the series. Kentucky’s last win against Tennessee was a 64-63 victory on Jan. 25, 2016 in Memorial Coliseum. The Lady Vols lead the all-time series in neutral-site games 9-0 and have a 7-1 record against Kentucky in the SEC Tournament. Mitchell is 0-4 against Tennessee in the event. The two teams have only met in the quarterfinals of the event twice with UT winning both games. The last meeting in the SEC Tournament came in the semifinals of the 2015 event in Little Rock, Ark., when UT won 75-64.
The two teams met once this season with Tennessee earning a 72-65 victory over the Wildcats in Knoxville. The Lady Vols shot 45.0 percent from the field in the game with Russell scoring 22 points with nine rebounds. Murray lead all scorers with 23 points, while Akhator had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Alabama ended the regular season with a 17-12 record, including a 5-11 mark in conference play. The Crimson Tide had lost five straight in conference play before its upset of Tennessee on Feb. 16 and carried the momentum from that win to post a 63-61 overtime win at Auburn on Feb. 20. Alabama lost its final two conference games at Georgia and home against Missouri.
The Crimson Tide are coming off a 77-57 win over Vanderbilt in the first round of the SEC Tournament on Wednesday. Sophomore forward Shaquera Wade led Alabama with 21 points, going 8-for-12 from the field with four rebounds, four assists and one steal. Junior guard Hannah Cook scored 15 points with two assists, while freshman guard Jordan Lewis scored 13 points with three rebounds and six assists. The Tide shot 48.3 percent from the field with 16 assists.
Alabama ended the regular season averaging 68.1 points per game, limiting opponents to 60.9 points per game. The Crimson Tide hit 39.9 percent from the field, including 29.1 percent from 3, while they are out-rebounding teams by 4.8 rebounds per game. Two Alabama players are averaging double figures this season with junior guard Meoshonti Knight leading the way with 11.3 points per game. Knight is also averaging 4.6 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 45 steals. Cook is averaging 11.2 points per game with 5.3 rebounds per game and a team-best 66 3-pointers made. Lewis is averaging 9.9 points per game with a team-best 111 assists, while Wade is averaging 9.1 points and is tied for the team lead with 5.8 rebounds.
Kentucky leads the all-time series in games played against Alabama 27-17 as the Wildcats have won three straight and 12 of the last 14 meetings. Kentucky is 4-0 all-time against Alabama in the SEC Tournament with the last meeting coming in the first round in 2000 in Chattanooga with UK earning a 67-63 victory. Kentucky leads the series 3-1 in neutral-site games. Alabama’s last win against Kentucky was Jan. 23, 2014 when the Crimson Tide earned a 57-55 victory over UK in Memorial Coliseum.
Kentucky earned a 71-54 victory over Alabama in the lone regular-season meeting this season with Akhator scoring a game-high 29 points with 15 rebounds and three assists. Epps scored 16 points in the game as Kentucky hit 48.2 percent from the field and out-rebounded Alabama, 37-33.
For more information on the Kentucky women’s basketball team, visit UKathletics.com or follow @KentuckyWBB on Twitter, Instagram and Snapchat, or Kentucky Women’s Basketball on Facebook.
Head Coach Matthew Mitchell
Pre-SEC Tournament News Conference
Wednesday, March 1
Opening statement …
“Well, we are excited to go and compete in the SEC Tournament. I think it’s an incredible event and just one of the best sporting events I’ve ever been around as a fan or as a participant. So we have a lot of respect for this league and a lot of respect for this tournament and we are looking forward to going and competing for a championship and that’s what we intend on doing.”
On the improvements he would like to see his team make …
“At this point in time, you’re just hoping and trying as a coach and a coaching staff to emphasize the little hustle areas that make us have a chance to be a good team. You’re just trying to build into a stretch of basketball where you can play well every night, shoot the ball well, cut down on any type of mental errors defensively, carry out your assignments, do your job on defense. It’s not real complicated at this point. We’re just trying to play as sharp as possible. I just think for the season as a whole for what our strengths are and what our flaws are, we’ve done a pretty good job of going in and being competitive in just about every single game. So we need to go to Greenville with our minds on great defensive fundamentals, boxing out and trying to be competitive on the boards and we’ve done a good job on that the last half of the season—the last half of the conference season. Defensively, just trying to help each other and play as one unit. I think we’ve done a pretty good job of mixing defenses. I think we need to try keep people off balance here in this tournament. And then offensively, just we need to be the most aggressive, attacking team over there. We really need to drive the ball from all positions. We can do that. We’re a team that can spread the floor and drive the ball, whether that be in transition offense or in the half-court. I just think we need to be relentless in that area as we travel over there. I think we’ve become a pretty solid team kind of all the way around. I don’t know that we’re a bright, shining star anywhere, but I don’t think there are any real deficiencies there either. So a solid team that’s going to going over there hungry to win.”
On a potentially tough draw in the tournament …
“Well, you know, we go one game at a time. If the seeds hold, what a great opportunity to compete against some teams that have beaten us and the very top of the conference. It’s an opportunity is what it is. This team’s been very embracing of opportunity all year long. We’ve won some big games. We’ve come through at some critical times. We’ve played with poise in some real pressure situations, so just turn it loose. Can’t win on Sunday if you don’t win on Friday. So really, it’s—whoever comes out of that tomorrow, I know it’ll be a tough game with Alabama and Tennessee. Whoever comes out, we’ll have to play extremely hard. We had to play extremely hard at Tennessee to have a chance. Fell short. We had to play extremely hard at Alabama to earn that victory. The only thing I tell them is, if they don’t want to win the tournament, don’t get on the plane. We’ll just go over there and give it everything you have. It’s a hard tournament to win. It’s a difficult tournament to win. We’ve been very close on several occasions. We want to win it and this year’s as good as any to go cut down those nets. Just gotta go over there focused on your business, on being mentally ready to outhustle whoever we play Friday afternoon, play real sharp on defense, attack on offense, be tough on the boards and give yourself a chance to win.”
On the first matchup with Tennessee …
“Yeah, Jess (Hardin) got knocked out at Duke and Makenzie (Cann) got her nose broken and Evelyn (Akhator)—Taylor (Murray) was coming out with a broken finger—two broken fingers, or one broken finger. Evelyn got beat up over there. It was a tremendously physical battle at Duke and I thought we bounced back and competed real hard. We were not as far along as we are now. That’s one thing that I would be really excited to see, is what’s our progress done. How much have we progressed? We could not keep them off the boards in the second half at crucial moments when we had a chance to win the game and we just were not very advanced at boxing out in our 2-3 zone and boxing out period and controlling the boards. And so a lot of progress has been made since January 1, so if it were Tennessee it’d be a great chance to see how much you’ve improved.”
On the team’s health …
“I think we are about as healthy as we have been. I think that we will have a very spirited and tough practice today and hopefully we can make it out of there with everybody feeling good. We are sort of rounding back into shape and it is very exciting right now. I think Jessica Hardin is finally ready to play and hopefully she will give us a boost here at the end. We could certainly use her speed, quickness, athleticism and her shooting. Makenzie looks like she has finally bounced back with her difficulties with the flu and just everybody looks good. We went this morning and had a good skill session. Everybody came in early in the day and had a pep in their step. I thought we had a great session this morning and we will go back at it this afternoon and see if we can get ready to play.”
On giving the team two days off Monday and Tuesday …
“Not often (that happens). We had the good four-day break with the bye, they had off Friday, Saturday, Sunday and Monday and went back at it Tuesday. So that was good for them. We learned a little bit from that, even going down the stretch here I don’t think we will give them four days off again, that just kind of bothered our rhythm a little bit, but I think the two days was good. They certainly earned it. On our off day they are going to class on Mondays. It is just a difficult and competitive situation for all the Southeastern Conference teams. So I think giving them two days off was good because they don’t get that often. There are days that we scale back but go a little big lighter. That has been the interesting thing with this team. It felt like early in the season I tried to figure out how to protect them and hold back and look after their minutes and those sort of things and after that Texas A&M game we just decided that we needed some work and we started to go twice on Tuesdays. This team has been a working group. They really group. I think the two days helped them, but work does not bother this bunch.”
On Maci Morris’ play …
“I think in so many instances, Maci is our most aggressive and best driver. Taylor has really come on in that area, she has done a good job of driving the ball. Maci is very aggressive, she uses her change of pace and her ball-handling skillset, which she worked hard on this summer, to get her loose and a little bit more open. And then Maci has some length where she can go a little bit sideways and some skill where she has a nice little running bank shot she can make that is a difficult shot to make. But she is very critical. You think of some of the times where she has driven the ball and the play she made to win the Auburn game was a big-time drive. She has done that consistently well all season. That is a big part of her game and a big part of the offense. That is the kind of mindset that we need to take with us to Greenville. We need to stay on the attack and try to be the most aggressive, attacking offensive team in the tournament.”
On the mind set being to win the tournament …
“Yeah. We think that is going to be difficult to do but we certainly believe over the course of the season that we have been in games with everybody in the tournament and there is no reason for us to not believe that we can win it. That is no disrespect to anyone. We are not trying to inflate where we are. We have tried to rise to the occasion every time and when we have been knocked down we have tried to come back and be a team that has been resilient. So there is definitely a sense of that on our team. I know that they want it bad. They want to do something and it would be real special to win the tournament. I think we are motivated to get that done. We will see. It is very hard to do.”
